How could Jane Austen's Emma be considered a feminist novel?

's novel
has a central character criticized as sheltered and overly concerned with
status, place, and marrying well, all the things well off women were supposed to be and do. In
her match making, she pushed her friend to not marry a prosperous farmer because he was not what
was considered well born, from a high or elite background. By novel's end she is forced to admit
she was wrong, and the marriage takes place.

Austen also makes use of
gendered space in the novel. Female characters almost always meet indoors while males meet
outdoors, suggesting their relative freedoms. The main character cannot walk alone to the post
office without attracting gossip while her father can go alone to London without worrying about
the same.

America - Past and Present Vol. 1:To 1877 How was the issue of slavery dealt with in the final version of the Constitution?

The America
that was formed in 1776 was much
different from the America of today that is so much more
regulated by the
Federal government. The government that was formed under the Articles of

Confederation that were ratified in 1781 had nothing in them about slavery. For, the
power to
regulate slavery,as with most powers, was left to the individual
states because the new
Americans distrusted a powerful central government
after their oppression under the
British.

Then, in May
1787 when the delegates from 12 states met in
Philadelphia (Rhode Island send
no...

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In melodrama, what are some conventions/characteristics of melodrama and stock characters: hero, villain, heroine, etc?

Melodramas are
built upon stock characters that have entrance music which suggests their personalities.  In
addition, the music gives these stock characters the timing they use, almost as though the drama
is choreographed. These stock characters dwell in a very simple universe in which good and evil
are easily identifiable with the hero and the villain always in conflict with one
another. 

The hero

Although
the hero is always noble and good, he is sometimes duped by the villain's nefarious plans, plans
that often include endangering the heroine in order to lure the hero into a trap. But with luck
and fortitude, the hero escapes his trap in order to triumph over the villain. In more modern
melodramas, the hero can be a frontier roughneck, a highwayman, or a fireman. 

The heroine

The heroine is a paragon of
virtue:  truthful, faithful, respectful of her parents; her beauty reflects her purity and
innocent heart and complete lack of pettiness. Just at the point in which all hope seems lost,
the hero rushes in and saves her.

The heroine's
father 

The heroine's father is often used by the villain
because he can be swayed by the villain, or he may have something in his past that the villain
threatens to expose, thereby using him to gain control of the heroine.

The comic servant

As a plot device to
speed up the conclusion, according to Michael Booth in English , 

Typically this comic servant or companion instantly saw through the
villain, put the situation in perspective, and made light of the high standards of conduct by
which other characters feel inconveniently bound

The villain

The villain typically
sneers and behind the backs of his victims, he laughs a sinister laugh.  Although he is eloquent
and well-dressed, the villain lacks integrity and is not above engaging in
sadistic acts such as tying the heroine onto railroad tracks and attempting to throw her over a
cliff. 

The plot

In
melodramas in order to create excitement around the simple plot, there are often explosions,
fires, drownings, even earthquakes, and at least one stage effect.

What is the central idea of the story "Marriage Is a Private Affair"?

The central
idea of the story reveals that choice-based marriages can prove successful, even in societies
where arranged marriages are the norm, when there is love and commitment between the parties
involved. Indeed love can conquer anything.

The story is based on an Ibo
society, whose marriage customs require that couples are matchmade. Nnaemeka thus faces stiff
opposition from his family, and village at large, about his plans to marry Nene, a woman he has
met in the city of Lagos. His father Okeke is so furious that he decides to erase the memory of
his son from his mind, especially after Nnaemeka marries Nene in spite of his and the clans
objections. Okeke even bans his son from his home. Over the years, however, an undeterred Nene
works hard to gain the approval of the clan. She makes friends with her husbands village mates,
who are living in the city. She even writes a letter to her father in law, begging him to
reconsider their situation, as their children would really want to visit the village to see
their grandfather. This letter really touches the old mans heart. The story ends, with Okeke in
a remorseful mood, thinking about his innocent grandchildren and how he just might die without
making it up to them.

Can you please help me to find the themes and/or thesis of "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway?

's short story "" is an iceberg of
a narrative; a story in which practically all the drama and tension is below the surface. The
action is almost non-existent: A couple wait at a small railway station for the train to Madrid,
order drinks and discuss whether the girl will have a "procedure" or not. That is all
that happens. Beneath the surface, however, is all the guilt and trauma attached to abortion
(illegal in most European countries at the time and particularly taboo in Catholic Spain) and
the misery of a failed, unequal relationship. The story comes from a collection called
, a bitterly appropriate title given the isolation of the two central
characters.

There are a myriad of themes: the sterility and boredom of
relationships in the modern world, the conflict of reason and emotion, the poverty of a life
without values or attachment. The man in the story is perfectly reasonable, but Hemingway seems
to be pointing how reason such as his is an unsatisfactory standard by which to live. A life
which might seem enviable from the outside, that of a rich man without responsibilities, with
nothing to do but see new sights and try new drinks, is in fact so hollow and meaningless that
it is bound to degenerate into squalid, miserable scenes like this one.

What are the poetic devices of the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost?

Paying attention to the in "" actually reveals
a meaning that some readers miss. People have a tendency to want to believe that they have led
the more difficult lives and have made the more difficult choices in the various metaphorical
forks in the road of their own lives. And perhaps that is why this poem is often
misinterpreted.

The speaker uses imagery in the first stanza to help readers
envision the choice:

Two roads diverged in a yellow
wood

Two things are significant in the imagery here and
are important as metaphors. The speaker isn't following his own
path but a

Does Montresor get his revenge in "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe?

Montresor
has been injured by Fortunato many
times.  It is the insult that makes Montresor decide that
Fortunato needs to
die. 

THE thousand injuries of

Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.
You,
who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that
gave utterance to a
threat. At length I would be avenged€¦

bydetails the
plans of a man who has been
pushed to the edge of no return. Montresor will inflict his
revenge; and in
doing so will not be punished himself.  This is a man who covers all of his

bases.  He has planned everything even to the time of the murder which is during the
carnival
season--the madness of the time will assure that there are no
witnesses.

Obviously, Montresor has studied Fortunato so
that he could find his weaknesses and be
able to lure him down into the
catacombs.  Fortunatoswill not allow him to let Montresor use
Luchesi
to...